Sleep, we all do it, or do we? Have you ever experienced a time when you couldn't sleep at night or at any other time for that matter? If you are a human then it had to have happened, however briefly. We all seem to experience those times when we just can't sleep. It may be that we have something on our mind, something in the room is annoying us or something physical is preventing us from sleeping. The next day we are usually ruined. But as bad as we may have had it, nothing can compare to the sleep draught that a Vietnamese man is suffering. He has not slept a wink in 33 years. He stated that he was hit in the head about 33 years ago and has not slept at anytime since. Amazingly he doesn't miss not sleeping and he has been examined by doctors that say he is fine. The man states that this has given him extra time to do things around his farm.

I read an article where they said that lack of sleep leads to a weight gain. Someone should tell this to the man above as he doesn't seem to be very heavy. Maybe the study is based on people who nibble because they can't sleep, this is entirely possible. Some scientists were convinced that mental health would be affected by lack of sleep, but using our Vietnamese friend as a guide, that seems to be a wrong conclusion. Could it be that humans really don't require sleep, we just think that we do? The average American gets 6.8 hours of sleep on weekdays but sleeps longer on weekends, a little more than a half hour. Boy, when the weekend comes we just sleep the day away, don't we? A little under one in three Americans gets 8 hours sleep. Over 75% of Americans have sleep problems. Some just can't sleep good, others snore and still others stop breathing for short periods of time while asleep. Sixteen percent of Americans take sleep aids either occasionally or on a regular basis. Over 60% of Americans have felt sleepy while driving. This certainly is not good.

Are there people who have never slept? According to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia the answer is yes. Paul Brunton was born in 1898 and died in 1981. He was 83 years old when he died. He was a British mystic and philosopher. He stated that he never slept a day in his life. Sathya Sai Baba was born around 1926 or 1927. He is an Indian guru with millions of followers. He claims to never have slept. Brock Henderson is another non sleeper. I really don't know anything about him just that his name is listed as someone who never slept. I figured that I would do a little research on him, but there are too many people with that name.

Doctors that handle sleep disorders have said that most of us have sleep apnea which is a blockage of the air passages. This is usually caused when the soft tissue in the back of our throats collapses during sleep. This will cause sleepers to wake up so that they can breathe and they will never feel rested because of the routine of sleeping and waking in an endless cycle. Because of this constant waking, the muscles in the body never get to relax and thus you are always tired.

One sleep publication recommends that you never sleep too long on the weekends. I wondered what their reason for this was so I investigated a little further. They claim that there is a two fold reason not to indulge yourself in a longer sleep. The first reason they say you shouldn't sleep too long is that you will wake groggy and won't feel right until night time and when bed time comes you won't be able to fall asleep. I guess that might be true since I have experienced this myself. The second reason seems a little strange to me. They state that there is a dangerous side to sleeping too long. They say that you get the heaviest dreams along with REM sleep and these dreams are often scary and make your blood pressure and sugar swing dangerously. They also say that sleeping too late makes you gain significant weight. That is funny in a way. First we heard that not enough sleep makes you gain weight and now we hear that too much sleep does the same thing.

It has been suggested that over 30% of the world's population suffer from sleep disorders. This would seem to suggest that the rest of the world sleeps better than we do, but I have to say that this just indicates to me that there is something wrong with the statistics. How could a person living in a country where his or her life is in danger every second, sleep better than an American? I just don't think that this is possible. Having said this, I will accept the statistics as just statistics that can be flawed. We all know that Americans have been putting on weight lately. It could turn out that this will affect our ability to sleep, who knows? I once went 72 hours without sleep but compared to some other people I seem like a piker.

If someone were to ask me what I though someone should do to have a better chance of sleeping at night, this would be my advise:

1. Relax your mind, watch a funny tv show or something you enjoy that doesn't have too much action in it.
2. Avoid arguments before going to bed.
3. Don't eat for at least two hours before going to sleep.
4. Try and get some exercise in during the day.
5. Try and get you weight down to a reasonable amount.
6. Get a comfortable mattress, you can even buy one of those 3 inch memory cell material covers, it makes quite a difference.
7. Don't oversleep in the morning and try to avoid naps.
8. Don't drink anything with caffeine in it for at least 2 hours before going to bed.
9. If you partner snores, try and get to bed first.

There you have it, my unprofessional suggestions for getting more sleep. Happy sleeping!